February 22, 2019

Guilford, Conn.— The Elite Hockey Program, proud member of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League (AYHL) and East Coast Elite League (ECEL), have announced Frank Butler has been named the team’s new 13U (2006) head coach.

"My goal is to develop my players skills and prepare them for the next level of their hockey careers by focusing a lot on positional development and provide the right structure to lead to team success . " Said Head Coach, Butler

Butler has spent the past two seasons coaching at the Tier 1/AAA 14U levels for the Elite Hockey Program.  Prior to his coaching debut at EHP, he spent a season playing professional with the Fayetteville Fire Antz of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) .

When Butler was asked to comment on his coaching philosophy, "I am a firm believer in attention to detail, hard work, high energy, high compete, lots of passion, lots of fun"

The native of East Haven, CT where he played four years of college at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. While at Nichols, he was a very productive player for the Bison over his four years. 

Butler was named to the ECAC Northeast First Team his senior year after recording 28 points (15-13-28) in 27 games. He scored a career-high 20 goals his junior year – which is the eighth-highest single-season mark in program history – and closed his career No. 7 with 56 career goals. In 99 career games, Butler racked up 98 career points (56-42-98).

He was also named the captain of his team during his senior year. While there, he was apart of two teams that made the NCAA Tournaments in his career at Nichols, also a three-time ECAC Northeast Academic All-Conference Team selection.

Butler also added, "Our team culture will be simple train to compete. We will treat every practice as a game situation so that when game time does comes it'll be instinctual and should come more natural to the player."

Register for 2019 Tryouts HERE

Are you interested in playing for the Elite Hockey Program? CLICK HERE to fill out a recruit questionnaire and your information will be forwarded to our Hockey Operations Staff.

There are numerous ways to stay connected with the Elite Hockey Program.  Follow the Elite Hockey Program on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.